Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Palace of Dolmabahçe, which we visited on our last stroll. Various
explanations have been advanced for the name Beşiktaş, or Cradle
Stone, the most probable being that it is a Turkish adaptation of
the Greek name, Diplokionion, the Twin Columns, from two lofty
columns of Theban granite which stood near the shore. In Byzantine
times there was a famous church of St. Mamas here, a port, a royal
palace and a hippodrome. These have vanished without a trace, but
there are still two or three Ottoman monuments of some interest.
The first of these is the türbe of another great pirate-admiral of
the Golden Age, the famous Hayrettin Paşa. This is one of the
earliest works of Sinan, dated by an inscription over the door to A.H.
948 (A.D. 1541-2). The structure is octagonal, with two rows of
windows. The upper row has recently been filled in with stained glass;
and the dome has been rather well-repainted with white arabesques on a
rust-coloured ground. Three catafalques occupy the centre of the
türbe, and in the little garden outside is a cluster of handsome
sarcophagi.
Hayrettin Paşa, better known in the West as Barbarossa, died in
1546 and on the fourth centennial of his death a statue was unveiled
to his memory in the square facing his tomb. It is by far the best
public statue in the city, a vivid and lively work by the sculptor Zühtü
Müridoğlu. On the back are six verses by the poet Yahya Kemal which
may be translated thus:
Whence on the sea's horizon comes that roar?
Can it be Barbarossa now returning
From Tunis or Algiers or from the Isles?
Two hundred vessels ride upon the waves,
Coming from lands the rising Crescent lights:
O blessed ships, from what seas are ye come?
Yahya Kemal Beyatlı (1884-1958) might best be described as
the G.K. Chesterton of modern Turkish poetry, and he resembled
Chesterton in other ways as well: one used to see his enormous bulk
ensconced at one of the cafés in Bebek imbibing vast quantities of
beer or rakı and holding forth to a group of admirers, among whom
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